Washington’s response to Canada’s counter-tariffs now directly affects dairy trade. President Donald Trump signed a proclamation on September 8 that will bar several Canadian products from entering the United States starting September 29, while a separate revision adds Canadian cheeses to the list of goods facing a 50 per cent tariff on September 15.
The ban covers whey, not the entire dairy sector
The White House describes the measure as an import ban on certain Canadian dairy products. The official annex provides a much narrower and more precise picture: it lists whey protein concentrates and several forms of modified, fluid and dried whey. It also includes certain molasses products and non-alcoholic beer, which are not dairy products.
Fluid milk, butter and yogurt do not appear in the annex. It would therefore be inaccurate to describe the measure as a complete closure of the U.S. market to Canadian dairy. For the listed products, however, the change is more severe than a tariff that merely weakens competitiveness: imports will be prohibited as of September 29. Goods imported but not yet entered for consumption by that date will remain subject to the previous 50 per cent duty.
Canadian cheese remains eligible for entry, at a steep price
The administration is also modifying the scope of the tariffs announced in July. Various Canadian cheeses are being added to the list of products subject to a 50 per cent duty beginning September 15. Those cheeses are not banned outright, but a tariff of that size could remove much of their competitiveness in the U.S. market.
Washington says the measures are a response to Canada’s continued use of tariff-rate quota allocation rules for U.S. dairy products. The proclamation relies on Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, which allows the president to impose duties of up to 50 per cent and, in certain circumstances, exclude products from a country accused of discriminating against U.S. commerce.
The United States had far more to lose
The announcement came on the same day Canada’s counter-tariffs began applying to U.S. goods, including several cheeses and whey products. Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada must accelerate investment and trade diversification, while acknowledging that the shift will carry short-term costs.
The dairy trade relationship remains highly asymmetrical. In 2025, the United States exported about $1.3 billion in dairy products to Canada while importing roughly $433 million from Canada. Canada’s measures therefore threaten a U.S. trade flow almost three times larger.
That does not make the American decision harmless. Canadian processors specializing in whey or export cheeses may still face serious losses. Across the bilateral dairy trade as a whole, however, the United States had more sales at risk.
My view: Oh no… I am heartbroken… Frankly, these measures affect relatively little. The United States exported far more dairy products to Canada than Canada exported to the United States. Looking strictly at the dairy side of this trade conflict, Canada still comes out ahead.
Sources: White House proclamation, official annex listing the banned products, Reuters and University of Wisconsin.
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